They kept going.
Kreya felt her muscles begin to shake. The spell had drained her. She wasn’t certain how much energy she had to draw on. She needed to rest, but had to—
Her knees gave out.
Jentt caught her.
Lifting her by the armpit, he braced her against him. She tried to make her legs walk forward, but they felt as limp as cooked noodles.
She heard him whisper to a strength talisman, and she felthim lift her into his arms. Her head swam. It was hard to make sense of the shadows. But she was the one who knew the way—
“Give us orders,” Zera whispered.
“Left three hundred feet,” Kreya told them. “Then third tunnel on the right.” She listed the rest of the directions, picturing the caves in her mind.
“Got it, Commander,” Jentt said. “Now rest.”
When Kreya opened her eyes, they were outside the tunnels and it was sundown. The mountains were bathed in amber and rose. “Put me down.”
Jentt lowered her to the ground.
“Everyone okay?” she asked.
“Are you?” Zera asked her.
“Fine.” She took a deep breath, taking stock of her body—all the old, familiar aches were there, and she still felt drained, but she could survive all that. “I’m fine,” she repeated. “Thanks.”
“Anytime.” Jentt grinned at her.
“Rather not repeat that, thanks,” Zera said.
Looking around, Kreya took a minute to orient herself. She knew exactly where they were—they’d followed her directions, and they were now far from both her tower and the village of Eren.
There was a traveler’s hut nearby, stocked for hunters and usually empty this time of year. She led them there and was relieved to see it was vacant.
The mountains of Vos were riddled with huts like these, maintained by travelers for other travelers. Kreya had used this one herself a few times.
At the hut, they fell into tasks: Kreya hauled wood from outside into the hearth and lit the fire, while Jentt aired out themusty blankets on the cots and pulled water from the well outside. Zera discovered a dead mouse in the corner of the hut and liberated its bones, using them to carve a speed talisman—the kind that would give a five-minute burst. She offered it to Jentt, and he returned with a rabbit, which Kreya skinned and Jentt cooked.
They ate before Jentt said, “Do you truly believe he’s alive?”
She knew exactly who he meant. “Yes.”
“Maybe,” Zera said.
Kreya admitted, “Maybe.”
“We have to warn people,” Jentt said.
“Absolutely not,” Zera said. “Didn’t you hear me say ‘maybe’? We don’t know Eklor is really there. Imagine how it will look if we claim he lives and he doesn’t. I have a legacy to protect, you know. I’m not tarnishing that with unfounded accusations that will make me the laughingstock of Vos. You guys too.”
“So we make sure he’s dead ourselves,” Kreya said. “No one else needs to know. If he is, no harm done. If he’s not... we handle it.”
“How?” Zera crossed her arms. “I’m not going back.”
“Marso. He saw the body. And he can read bones to confirm it.” Once she said it, Kreya liked her idea more and more. There was no other bone reader with the range, clarity, and accuracy of Marso. He was unique and extraordinary. If he saw what Kreya believed he’d see, it would be evidence that neither Jentt nor Zera could ignore.
“Love it,” Jentt said. “Love you.” He kissed her.
